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Dr Jim Manos

Senior Lecturer in Infectious Diseases
Medicine (Immunology & Infectious Diseases), Central Clinical School

D06 - Blackburn Building
The University of Sydney
NSW 2006 Australia

T: +61 2 9351 8942
F: +61 2 9351 4731
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Curriculum vitae

Biographical details

BIOGRAPHY: Dr Jim Manos is Head of the Bacterial Pathogens in Cystic Fibrosis research group in the Sydney Medical School at Sydney University. He is also a Senior Lecturer in Infectious Diseases in the Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology. He is studying Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains infecting the cystic fibrosis (CF) lung. CF-specific strains are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in CF patients. Previously he worked on Helicobacter pylori and Proteus mirabilis, and has over a dozen publications in peer reviewed journals. [More...]

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Research interests

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P.aeruginosa) lung infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in cystic fibrosis (CF)patients. P.aeruginosa usually spreads to patients from the environment, but epidemic clones spreading patient-to-patient are an emerging threat to CF patients internationally. Dr Manos is characterising the molecular basis for infectivity of the epidemic clones AES-1 and AES-2 that infect up to 45% of CF patients in eastern Australia, by identifying expression and presence virulence factors specific to AES-1. The findings will be used to develop novel therapeutics and infection control strategies.

Data from Affymetrix PAO1 microarrays of AES-1, AES-2 and unique (non-epidemic) isolates grown both planktonically and as a biofilm have provided evidence that epidemic strains are ?primed? for biofilm development during planktonic growth. To further investigate CF-strain specific genes of P. aeruginosa, the CF research group at the University of Sydney, with Dr Manos as a chief investigator, sequenced the genome of AES-1 and in conjuction with Dr Cynthia Whitchurch (UTS - previously Monash) has developed a non-redundant array (PANarray) containing all genes from eight sequenced P. aeruginosa genomes. Dr Manos' lab is using this array, together with an artificial sputum medium (ASMDM) that mimics CF sputum, to investigate expression of CF-strain specific genes. His PhD student Chris Harmer has created mutants in six genes significantly diffrentially expressed in ASMDM, and is investigating changes in virulence, infectivity and invasiveness in the mutants in the A549 epithelial cell line and the C57Bl/6J mouse model of lung infection. Honours student Matthew Wyn is identifying the phenotypic changes that result in these mutants compared to wildtype.

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Teaching areas

I teach the Infection and Immunity(INIM) postgraduate coursework unit of study "Advanced Medical Bacteriology" (INIM5011) and coordinate the Graduate studies in Infection and Immunity program. The emphasis of the program is to impart the latest information and "state of the art" technology used to understand the specific pathogen under investigation. This theme has been continued in the program of practical experiments that I developed to complement the lectures.

I also teach in the BMedSci undergraduate course Infectious Diseases (INFD3012).

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